Apparatus for treating dough

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the treatment of dough, in particular portioning and kneading, has a drum (2) rotatable around a horizontal axis and provided on its periphery with receiving openings (3, 4) for the dough. In these receiving openings the dough is treated, for example by a kneading member. In each receiving opening (3, 4) a piston (43) is guided in radial direction of the drum along a restricted guidance (46) that on its entire is rotatable relative to the drum (2). The restricted guidance consists of at least two members (91, 92) adjustable relative to each other and completing each other effectively to the common restricted guidance (6) and always reliably guiding the pistons (43). By relative adjustment of the two members (91, 92), the treatment conditions on a station can be changed without influencing the other stations FIG. 2.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus for treating dough, in particularfor portioning and, respectively, or kneading dough, comprising a drumstepwisely rotatable around a horizontal axis and provided on itsperiphery with receiving openings for dough portions, at least onetreatment member for the dough, a piston in each receiving openingguided within the receiving opening in radial direction of the drum, anda curved restricted guidance for the pistons for radial inward andoutward movement of the pistons during at least one phase of thetreatment, which restricted guidance guides the pistons inwardly andoutwardly, with respect to the radius of drum and is automaticallyadjustable relative to the drum at least in the phases of stillstand ofthe drum motion.

Such apparatus are known (for example AT-PS 341 970). Generally theyhave four rows of receiving openings distributed in equal distancesaround the periphery of the drum, that means always displaced withrespect to each other for 90°. The stepwise advance of the drum causes arotation of the drum for 90° per step, so that the receiving openingsare conveyed from station to station, where the treatment of the doughtakes place, for example portioning or kneading. Within the abovementioned known apparatus, a portioning station is disposed at the oneside of the drum, at which station the dough is pressed into thereceiving openings by means of a pusher member and is portioned by ashearing edge when the drum moves again. Within the region of the summitof the drum a kneading station is provided at which a kneading tool istdisposed that kneads the dough pieces accommodated within the receivingopenings into a ball-like shape. At the other side of the drum a depositstation is disposed at which the dough pieces are ejected from thereceiving openings by an outward movement of the pistons. This outwardmovement of the pistons is obtained by the restricted guidance of thepistons which is rotated relative to the drum during the stillstandthereof, the curvature of this restricted guidance effecting the desiredoutward movement of the pistons at the deposit station. At the sametime, during this relative rotation of the restricted guidance, thepistons are retracted at the portioning station, in order to suck-in thedough which has to be pressed-in into the receiving opening. Also at thekneading station a retraction of the pistons takes place during thekneading process, in order to consider that the dough piece requiresmore and more space during the kneading process. The known apparatusworks without any problem as long as the distances for which the pistonsare moved forwardly or, respectively, backwardly at the single stations,are not changed for a too great extent. Such a change, however, isnecessary at the portioning station, if the dough piece to be weighedthere has to be changed with respect to its volume or, respectively,weight, that means, that for example, one must change from theproduction of smaller dough portions to the production of bigger doughportions or vice versa. For this, it is indeed known from the initiallydescribed construction to additionally adjust the restricted guidancerelative to the drum by means of an adjustment device, that means, as itwere, to change the starting position of the relative movement betweenrestricted guidance and drum. Thereby, at the portioning station a moreor less long retraction of the pistons can be adjusted at choice.However, difficulties arise, if this adjustment should be made to acomparatively large extent, because then a considerable change of thesaid starting position of the restricted guidance is necessary. Thischange influences the circumstances at the kneading station and at thedeposit station so that there the optimal positions of the pistonsduring the kneading process cannot more be obtained or, respectively,the dough pieces are no more reliably ejected from the receivingopenings.

The invention has at its object to improve an apparatus of the initiallydescribed kind so that the circumstances at one station can be changedat choice for a large extent without influencing the other stations. Theinvention solves this task by the features that the restricted guidancecomprises at least two curved path sections provided on at least twomembers that are adjustable relative to each other and effectivelycomplete each other to the common restricted guidance. By this, theabove described problem is solved with simple constructive effort. Theparts of the restricted guidance disposed on the single elements furtherguide the pistons always so that these pistons cannot swing neitherinwardly nor outwardly, so that they are always guided exactly.Nevertheless, by the adjustment of the single members relative to eachother it can be obtained that changes of the restricted guidance arepossible at the single stations without that the guidance effective forthe other stations is also changed. Thereby, a wide field of variationsis possible to adjust the conditions of treatment at the single stationsat choice, for example, at the portioning station the weight or,respectively, the volume of the dough pieces to be portioned can bechanged to a large extent without that this change influences thekneading process or the deposition process of the dough pieces.

As a rule, two members are sufficient, the relative position of whichcan be varied, however also more than two such members may be provided,for example, such a member may be allocated to each one of the threesaid stations. However, if portioning, kneading and deposition of thedough pieces should take place at one single drum, the principle isretained that at the portioning station the pistons are retracted, andalso at the kneading station, whereas at the deposit station the pistonsare moved outwardly. Just so, always the general principle of functionis retained that at least portions of the restricted guidance are movedduring the stillstand of the drum in order to obtain these movements ofthe pistons.

Within the spirit of the invention there are several possibilities toobtain the relative adjustment of the single elements constituting therestricted guidance: According to a particular favourable embodiment ofthe invention, the arrangement can be such that at least two memberscarrying the curved paths are adjustably rotatable relative to eachother around a common center. This results in a construction easy tosurvey and having a simple possibility for the drive. However, withinthe spirit of the invention, the embodiment can also so constructed thatat least two members carrying the curved path are adjustably spreadablefrom each other at one side, thus substantially like the single sectorsof a fan. Within this, in each case there is a simple possibility forthe drive within the spirit of the invention by the fact that themembers carrying the curved path are disposed on shafts or,respectively, hollow shafts concentrically bearingly supported in eachother and rotatable relative to each other by adjustment means. Theamount of this rotation as well as the angular velocity can be chosen toenable one to adapt one to varying requirements. Thus, within the spiritof the invention the embodiment can be so chosen that the adjustmentmeans comprise a cam rotated by the drive means and at its peripherybeing contacted by a rocker lever connected to the shaft of one of themembers. The shape of this cam determines in such a case the amount andthe angular velocity of rotation of the respective member. This enablesone to obtain again changes of the piston movements occuring during thesingle treatment processes by exchange of the cam against a cam ofdifferent shape. In addition thereto, within the spirit of the inventionthe arrangement may be such that the drive means comprises a furthercurved path from which as well the stepwise advance movement of the drumas also an adjustment of at least one curved path of the restrictedguidance are derived, the duration of each step of movement of the drumbeing shorter than the intervening intervals. Thereby, in the intervalsof the drum movement, more time for the treating processes is obtained,what in particular for the kneading process is of substantial advantage,since the quality of the kneaded dough piece to a high degree dependsfrom the duration of time being at disposal for the kneading process.Thereby it is also facilitated to adapt one to varying conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention result from thedescription of examplative embodiments of the subject matter of theinvention shown schematically in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through the axis of the drum, in a largerscale, taken perpendicularly to the section plane of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 5 show the two members of a two-part restricted guidance, inaxial view.

FIGS. 4 and 6 are sections along the lines IV--IV or VI--VI of FIGS. 3or 5.

The FIGS. 7 and 8 show a restricted guidance composed of two elementsaccording to FIGS. 3 to 6, in two different adjustment positions.

FIGS. 9, 11 and 13 show the restricted guidance in three subsequentphases of the kneading process and

FIGS. 10, 12 and 14 show the associated drive means in the threecorresponding moments of operation.

FIGS. 15 and 17 show a variated embodiment of a two-part restrictedguidance.

FIG. 18 shows a detail of FIG. 15 in section.

FIGS. 18 to 20 show variants of embodiments to FIGS. 10, 12 and 14.

FIG. 21 shows a view of an amended embodiment in its substantialelements and

FIG. 22 shows a detail of FIG. 21 in another position of operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Within the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a drum 2 is bearinglysupported for rotation around a horizontal axis 2' in a framework 1. Thedrum 2 has on its circumference receiving openings 3 or 4, respectively,of different size for the dough to be kneaded, the larger receivingopenings 3 being distributed alternatively with the smaller receivingopenings 4 over the periphery of the drum 2 in equal distances. Suitablythese receiving openings are provided in rows extending parallel to theaxis 2' of the drum. The drum is stepwisely driven by a drive means 5(FIGS. 2, 18 to 20) so that at each step of the drum motion always onereceiving opening 3 or 4, respectively, reaches a portioning station 14,at which the dough is pressed into the corresponding receiving openingby means of a press-in tool 6' formed by a pusher member 6. The pushermember 6 is reciprocably guided in the framework 1 in a guidance 379(FIGS. 1, 28, 29) and is reciprocably moved by a crank mechanism 7driven by the main motor 7'. A tension spring 8 is inserted into thecrank mechanism 7 and avoids that the dough is unduly squeezed at theadvance movement of the pusher member 6. The dough to be portioned isfilled into a filling shaft 9 and is pre-portioned by a pre-portioningdevice 10 consisting of pre-portioning means 11' in form of two starrollers 11 positioned at the same level within the filling shaft 9 androtating in inverse sense around horizontal axes and drivenintermittently in dependence from the dough volume 12 provided within achamber 13 positioned below the star rollers 11, from which chamber thedough 12 is pressed-in by the pusher member 6 and thereby is displacedin the chamber 13. If sufficient dough is at disposal within the chamber13, a sensor 15 is actuated during this dough displacement, which sensortransmits a pulse to a control means for driving the star rollers 11.For example, this sensor may be formed by a photo-electric barrier or bya proximity sensor sensitive to the approach of moist mass, for examplea capacitive sensor, or by a rod bearingly supported for swivel motionin the chamber 13 above the path of movement of the pusher member 6,which rod is lifted by the displaced dough. If there are no pulsestransmitted by the sensor 15--if desired for a adjustable number ofstrokes of the pusher member 6--then causes the control means that doughis supplied into the chamber 13 by the star rollers 11 either for aselected time or till the sensor 15 is actuated again.

The dough volume 12 present in the chamber 13 is floured at itspressed-in side by flouring device 16. For this, a dosing brush rotatesin a flour chamber 17 and throws flour through a dosing grid 19 havingadjustable grid openings onto a distributing brush 20 that throws theflour through an opening 21 into the chamber 13. The drive means forthis flouring device 16, in particular for its dosing brush 18, may becontrolled in the same manner by the sensor 15 as the drive means forthe pre-portioning device 10.

The dough pressed into the respective receiving opening 3 or 4 issheared off by a shearing edge 23 when the drum 2 rotates again indirection of the arrow 22, and thereby the real portioning is done.After a rotation of the drum 2 for 90°, the dough piece present in thereceiving opening reaches a kneading station 24 positioned in the regionof the upper drum summit. There, a kneading device 25 is provided on theframework 1 and is driven by a motor 27 via a V-belt drive 28, thekneading device comprising a kneading tool 29 in form of a plate that atthe kneading process moves in a circular motion relative to theneighbouring receiving opening and is provided on its side facing thedrum 2 with stepwisely formed cavities 30 (see also FIGS. 23 to 26). Thekneading tool 29 is bearingly supported for rotation on an eccentric pin31 fixed to a disk 32 provided on the lower end of a second eccentricpin 33. This further eccentric pin is rotatably inserted into a seat 34formed by an eccentric bore of a driving shaft 35 driven by the V-beltdrive 28 and bearingly supported for rotation in a fixing device 36carrying also the motor 27 and being fixed for pivotal motion around anaxis 26 on the framework 1, so that the kneading device 25 can beswivelled off from the framework 1 for cleaning purposes or the like.The second eccentric pin 33 can be rotated within the driving shaft andcan be fixed in its rotation position and carries on its upper end atiller 37 for fixable adjustment. Thereby, the radius of the circularmovement of the kneading tool 29 can be varied also during operation sothat the kneading effect can be adjusted to the present circumstances,in particular to the size and the quality of the dough piece. This willbe described more in detail.

The completely kneaded dough pieces 38 are ejected from the receivingopenings 3 or, respectively, 4 at a deposit station 39 and are placedonto a conveyor belt 40 that is guided around a deflection roller 41disposed near the drum 2. In order to ensure a reliable transition ofthe dough piece 38 to be ejected, the conveyor belt 40 may beprematurely driven, that means, it starts its motion in direction of thearrow 42 before the dough piece is ejected. This ejection is caused by aradial outward movement of a piston 43 guided in each one of thereceiving openings 3, 4. All pistons 43 are guided along a curved path45 of a restricted guidance 46 by linkage means 44 so that a rotation ofthis curved path 45 with respect to the drum 2 causes a radial movementof the piston 43 in the respective receiving opening, either inwardly oroutwardly. This relative rotation is made by a drive means 47 describedlater on in detail. The curved path 45 is substantially so formed that,when the curved path 45 makes its relative rotation during the intervalsof motion of the stepwise drum motion, the pistons 43 are retracted atthe portioning station 14 in order to produce a suction effect onto thedough to be portioned. At the kneading station 24, the piston 43 isfurther retracted in order to provide more space for the dough piecethat little by little assumes a ball-like shape by the kneading process.At the deposit station 39, however, the pistons 43 are shifted outwardlyuntil the periphery of the drum and thereby the dough pieces 38 areejected from the receiving openings 3 or 4.

If necessary, rests of dough adhering on the drum are stripped off by acleaning brush 48 and are thrown onto a collecting cup 49.

Always one single size of the receiving openings 3 or, respectively, 4is effective. In order to change from the large receiving openings 3 tothe small receiving openings 4 or vice versa, a change-over device 50(FIGS. 21, 22) is provided, the function thereof is nearer describedlater on. The respective adjusted size of the openings can be sensed bya sensor means 51 (FIG. 1) cooperating with a transmitter cross 52 fixedon the shaft of the drum and associated to the larger receiving openings3. If the sensor means 51 during the motion interval of the drum 2senses a neighbouring protrusion of the transmitter cross 52, the largerreceiving openings 3 are effective, otherwise the smaller receivingopenings 4. The evaluation of the signals transmitted by the sensor 51can be made by electronic means positioned in a switch box 53, in thesame way as the control of the drive means of the pre-portioning device10 and, respectively, or of the flouring device 16.

It is convenient to make the length of time at disposal for the kneadingprocess of each dough piece 38 at the kneading station 24 longer thanthat length of time that is required for an advance step of the drum 2,that means, for example, to bring a receiving opening 3 or 4 from theportioning station 14 to the kneading station 24 or, respectively, fromthis to the deposit station 39. For this, the FIGS. 18 to 20 showsuitable drive means 5 for the drum or, respectively, 47 for therestricted guidance 46. By the main motor 7' (FIG. 1) a crank 54 isrotated via a gear means, which crank carries a rotatable roller 55'bearing supported on a pin 55 and guided in a curved slot 57, forming acurved path 56, of a swivelling lever 58 bearingly supported in theframework 1 of the apparatus for swivel motion around a horizontal axis58 and forming a member of a linkage means 60 serving for the motion ofthe drum 2 or, respectively, of the restricted guidance 46. This linkagemeans 60 has a rod 61, the one end of which is hinged to the swivellinglever 58 and the other end of which is hinged to a rocker arm 62rotatably mounted on the shaft of the drum 2 and connected for rotationwith the restricted guidance 46, for example by means of a shaftintersecting hollow shaft ends of the drum 2 that are connected to thetwo side walls of the drum 2. The rocker arm 62 carries a catch 63pressed by a spring 64 against a row of notches 65, particularly anotched collar connected for rotation with the shaft 66 of the drum 2.During the advance movement of the drum 2 the rocker arm 62 is pivotedvia the drive means 5 in direction of the arrow 67 (FIG. 3) and thecatch 63 engages a notch of the row of notches 65 and thereby the drum 2is carried along. During the intervals of motion of the stepwise drummotion, a further catch 68 bearingly supported for pivotal motion aroundan axis 69 in the framework 1, engages a notch of a row of notches 65and thereby prevents the drum 2 from rotation. The catch 68 carries aroller 70 bearingly supported for rotation on the catch and guided alongthe periphery of a cam disk 71 that is rotated by the main motor 7' viaa chain drive 72. The shape of the periphery of the cam disk 71determines when the catch 68 is lifted out of the row of notches 65 andthereby makes the drum 2 free for rotation.

The drive means 451 for the rotation of the restricted guidance 46 (FIG.2) disposed on the side of the drum 2 and serving for adjustment of thepistons 43, is also driven by the main motor 7' via the crank 54 (FIGS.18 to 20) and utilizes also the linkage means 60. For this, a shaftcarrying the restricted guidance 46 and for simplification's sake isassumed to be a single shaft, is connected for rotation with the rockerarm 62. Each pivotal movement of the rocker arm 62, may it be during theadvance of the drum in direction of the arrow 22 (FIG. 1) or during theinterval of motion of the drum in the inverse direction, thereforecauses a corresponding swivel motion of the restricted guidance 46around the axis of this shaft.

The circumstances, in particular the shape of the curved slot 57 in theswivelling lever 58, are so chosen that shorter periods of time resultfor the movement of the drum (advancement from station to station) thanfor the rotation of the restricted guidance 46 during the stillstand ofthe drum 2. Since the drive means 5, 47 are positioned on the other sideof the drum 2 as the view side of FIG. 1, the positions of the membersshown in FIGS. 18 to 20 are side-inverted, so that the portioningstation 14 is disposed at the left side and the deposit station 39 atthe right side. FIGS. 9, 11 and 13 are correlated to FIGS. 18 to 20 andclearly show the relative position of drum 2 and restricted guidance 46as well as the movement of the pistons 43 caused thereby.

FIGS. 18 and 9 show the circumstances before the start of the kneadingprocess. It can be seen that during an angle of rotation α of the crank54 of about 120° the drum 2 is advanced for 90° and this by an harmonicacceleration without bump, and also harmonic decelerating. The piston 43positioned at the kneading station 24 (FIG. 9) assumes a middleposition, corresponding to the volume of dough portioned at theportioning station 14. As soon as the advancement of the drum 2 isterminated, the cam disk 71 allows the catch 68 to rest into the row ofnotches 65, whereby the drum 2 is blocked against rotation. Now thekneading process starts at the further rotation of the crank 54 (FIGS.11, 19). Thereby the rod 61 is shifted to the right (FIG. 19) andswivels the rocker arm 62 in direction of the arrow 74, however at thebeginning for a small amount only (angle β) although the crank 54rotates during this time for a substantially greater angle δ which againamounts to about 120°. This relative small swivel motion of the rockerarm 62 causes an also small rotation of the restricted guidance 46,whereby the piston 43 positioned at the kneading station 24 at the Startof the kneading process is retracted for a comperatively small amount inits receiving opening 3. For this initial phase of the kneading process,therefore, about one third of the total time period of the cycle is atdisposal or about as much time as for the advance of the drum (angle α,FIG. 18).

The shape of the slot 57 in the swivelling lever 58 is coordinated withthe shape of the curved path 45 of the restricted guidance 46, so thatthe speed of retraction of the pistons 43 necessary at the kneadingstation 24 has the desired amount.

During further rotation of the crank 54 (FIGS. 13, 20), following theangle δ (FIG. 19) there is an accelerated swivel motion of the rockerarm 62 and therefore a quicker rotation of the restricted guidance 46,what causes a quicker retraction of the piston 43 in its receivingopening 3 or 4 in the end phase of the kneading process. FIGS. 13 and 20show the circumstances after termination of the kneading process whenthe catch 68 is lifted off by the cam disk 71 so that the drum 2 is madefree for rotation in direction of the arrow 22. The drum is advanced for90° (angle δ in FIG. 18) and the cycle is started again.

As it is shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, the shortened relation between thetime for movement of the drum and the kneading time is represented bythe shape of the cam disk 71. Its elevated cam portion that causes thecatch 68 to swivel off during the advancement of the drum, extends onlyover about a third of the periphery of the cam disk 71, whereas twothirds of this periphery correspond to the time that is at disposal forthe kneading process.

A variant thereto is shown in FIGS. 21 and 22. The driven shaft 75 ofthe motor 7' carries as disk 76 on which an endless curved loop 77 isfixed in which a pin 78 is guided that is mounted on the rod 61 of thelinkage means 60 by which the drive means 5, 47 for the drum 2 or,respectively, for the restricted guidance 46 are connected to the rockerarm 62. The rod 61 has a slot 79 into which a pin 80 engages that isfixed to the framework 1 and carries the rod 61 for pivotable andshiftable motion. By the eccentric arrangement of the curved loop 77with respect to the output shaft 75, analogously the same effects areobtained as this has been described with respect to FIGS. 18 to 20.

FIG. 21 shows also the drive means for the pre-portioning device 10 andfor the flouring device 16. As chain wheel is mounted on the outputshaft 75 and drives via a chain a chain wheel 82 mounted on the shaft 81of the one star roller 11. This chain wheel 82 is coupled by a magneticcoupling to the shaft 81, which coupling is controlled by the sensor 15(FIG. 1) or, respectively, via the electronic means disposed within theswitch box 53 in the manner described. The two star rollers 11 arecoupled to each other by means of pinions so that they rotatesynchronously having opposite senses of rotation.

For the flouring device 16, the drive is derived from a chain wheel 83that is mounted on the shaft of the drum 2 and drives via a chain 84 aswell the flouring device 16, and, more particularly, its lowerdistributing brush 20, as the cleaning roller 48. The two brush rollers18, 20 of the flouring device 16 are coupled to each other by a chaindrive, the chain wheel associated to the dosing roller 18 beingconnected via a magnetic coupling to the shaft associated to this dosingbrush 20. Also this magnetic coupling may be controlled by the sensormeans 15, if desired with an adjustable delay time or, respectively, viathe electronic means positioned within the switch box 53.

The change-over device 50 for changing over from the smaller receivingopenings 4 to the larger receiving openings 3 or, respectively, viceversa, comprises a push-button 86 shiftably guided in the framework 1against the action of a spring 85, which push-button carries on itsinner end a roller 87 cooperating with the catch 63 mounted for swivelmotion on the rocker arm 62. If a change-over is desired, thepush-button is pressed in the position shown in FIG. 22 against theaction of the spring 85 so that during the advance movement of the drum(arrow 67) the roller 87 engages the catch 63 and thereby lifts off thiscatch against the action of the spring 84. Thereby, any carrying alongof the drum 2 during the swivel motion of the rocker arm 62 in directionof the arrow 87 is interrupted so long until a nose 88 engages theroller 87 and thereby presses the push-button 86 out of a ball stopnotch 89 so that the push-button is moved back into its startingposition (FIG. 21) under the action of the spring 85. Then, the catch 63engages in the next following notch of the row of notches 65 under theaction of the spring 64.

If the push-button 86 is actuated during a relative swivel between therestricted guidance 46 and the drum 2, so that the rocker arm 62 isswivelled opposite to the direction of the arrow 67, then the nose 88 ofthe catch 63 presses the roller 87 back along a guidance 90 so that theroller 87 can get out of the way. As soon as the advance of the drumstarts, the roller 87 slides again in the guidance 90 downwardly intothe position shown in FIG. 21 and, therefore becomes effective, asdescribed above.

In order to make it possible to change the restricted guidance 46 on atreating station for the dough pieces 38, for example on the portioningstation 14 in order to change the weight of the dough pieces, withoutthat this change influences the circumstances at the kneading station 24or at the deposit station 39, each restricted guidance 46 consists of atleast two members that are adjustable relative to each other. Forsimplification's sake, the examplative embodiments shown in the drawingshow only two such members 91, 92 (FIGS. 2 to 8 and 16, 17), however,also three or more such members may be provided. In the embodimentaccording to FIGS. 2 to 8, the two members 91, 92 can be swivelledaround a common center 93 which coincides with the axis 94 (FIG. 2) ofthe drum 2. Each one of the two members 91, 92 carries a section 95 or,respectively, 96 of the curved path, which two sections complete eachother in each relative swivel position of the two members 91, 92 so thatall pistons 43 are always reliably guided in radial direction and,therefore, cannot escape neither outwardly nor inwardly. As a rule, thetwo members 91, 92 overlap each other partially (FIG. 2), the amount ofthis overlapping is determined by the relative swivel of the twomembers. The said possibility for variation is obtained by the fact thaton the member 91 (FIGS. 3, 4) the section 95 of the curved path 45 hasan enlargement 97, which section would allow an oscillation of thepistons if it would be important alone for guiding the pistons 43.However, this oscillation is avoided by the fact, that this enlargement97 is overlapped by the section 96 of the curved path 45 of the member92 (FIGS. 5, 6), so that this section becomes of importance for therestricted guidance of the pistons 43. In an analogous manner, thesection 96 of the member 92 acts as a guidance for the pistons 43 inthat section 98 of the member 91, in which the curved path 45 isinterrupted. In at least one section of the curved path 45, it islimited also by both member 91, 92, and this in a sector 99 whichconstitutes that part of the sector 98 that corresponds to the end ofthe curved path 45 in the member 91 that merges into the sector 98 andis not enlarged. There, the curved path 45 is confined on its outer sideby a peripheral fin 100 of the member 91, which fin is positioned on theouter side of the sector 98. On the inner side, the confinement isconstituted by a plate-shaped section 191 of the member 92, whichsection has a spiral-shaped periphery. The relative rotation of the twomembers 91, 92 is limited by stops 102, 102' of the member 51 or,respectively, 103, 103' of the member 92. In that position of the twomembers 91, 92 in which the stops 102, 103 engage each other, also thefront end 104 of the section 101 (FIG. 5) engages a lateral surface 105of a thickening of the member 91. The angle for which the two members91, 92 can be swivelled relative to each other, amounts approximately to50°, however, if desired, it can be made greater without any problem, ifthis is desired with respect to the present requirements.

In order to rotate the two members 91, 92 constituting the restrictedguidance 46 for the pistons 43, also relative to each other, the twomembers 91, 92 are fixed to concentric shafts 107, 108 (FIG. 2), fromwhich the shaft 107 is a hollow shaft guiding the shaft 108. The linkagemeans 44 (FIGS. 1, 2) moving the pistons 43 is guided in the restrictedguidance 46 of the two members 91, 92, and for this a roller 109 runs inthe curved path 45 which roller is bearingly supported for rotation onthe one end of a swivel lever 110 (FIG. 2), the other end of which isrigidly mounted on a shaft 111 bearingly supported for rotation in thetwo side walls 112 of the drum 2. For each piston 43, the shaft 111carries a swivel arm 113, the free end of which is hinged by a hingemember 114 to the inner end of the piston 43.

The two shafts 107, 108 extend concentrically in the shaft 66 of thedrum (FIG. 2) outwardly and are there effectively connected to the drivemeans 47. For this, the drive means 47 can be so constructed as this isshown in FIGS. 18 to 20, however, also the embodiment according to FIGS.9 to 14 may be chosen. This embodiment, however, has not the advantagethat the time durations for the advance of the drum and for the kneadingprocess may be chosen differently. As within the embodiment according toFIGS. 18 to 20, for the advance of the drum the output shaft 75 of themotor 7' acts via a crank 54 and a rod 61 hinged thereto on the rockerarm 62 that takes along the drum by means of the spring-loaded catch 63when the drum ist advanced. Within this, the cam disk 71 keeps thespring-loaded catch 68 out of an engagement with the row of notches 65so that the drum 2 can be rotated. As soon as the advance of the drumterminated, the roller 70 of the catch 68 slides off the cam disk 71,the catch 68 engages into the row of notches 65 and the drum 2 isblocked. During the stillstand of the drum 2 the two members 91, 92constituting the restricted guided 46 are rotated in common, whereby thepistons 43 are advanced or, respectively, retracted at the singlestations. The rotation of the two members 91, 92 may be made by therocker arm 62, as this is shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, however, within thevariant of the construction according to FIGS. 2 to 14, for this purposea further cam disk 114 of the drive means 47 is provided that ispositioned outwardly and is continuously driven via a chain drive 15 bythe output shaft 75 of the motor 7'. This cam disk 114 may be positionedon the same shaft as the cam disk 71 and acts with its periphery on aroller 116 bearingly supported on a lever 117 that is rigidly connectedwith the hollow shaft 107 of the restrictive guidance member 91 (FIG.2). A friction lining 118 takes along a disk 119 that is positioned onthe outer side and connected to the shaft 108 of the restrictiveguidance member 92. The backward rotation of the members 91, 92 isbraked by a brake lining 119 which is positioned on the member thatstillstands during this backward rotation and plays the roll of aratched wheel carrying the row of notches 65. The end of the swivelmotion of the lever 117 is shown in FIG. 14. At this moment, the camdisk 114 slides off the roller 116 and the backward motion of the lever117 into the starting position shown in FIG. 10 starts under the actionof the advance movement of the drum 2, because via the brake lining 119and the friction lining 118 also the members 91, 92 and, therefore, thelever 117 are taken along, when the row of notches 65 is rotated for theadvance of the drum 2.

By the shape of the periphery of the cam disk 114, the angular velocityof rotation of the restricted guidance 46 for the pistons 43 can beinfluenced at choice, so that always optimal kneading conditions areensured.

An additional catching of the disk 120 by the lever 117 during thephases of weighing, kneading and deposition can be obtained by means ofa pinion 122 meshing with a toothed ring 121 of the disk 120, whichpinion is bearingly supported for rotation on an extension 123 of thelever 117 and carries a handwheel 124 for adjustment. This pinion 122meshes with a further pinion 125 that is bearingly supported on theextension 123 and adjusts a potentiometer 126 on which the measuredweight adjusted by means of the handwheel 124 is indicated by means of adisplay (see also FIGS. 7, 8).

In the FIGS. 7 and 8 it is shown how by rotation of the one member 92forming the restricted guidance 46, the conditions at the portioningstation 14 with respect to the volume of the dough pieces to beportioned there, can be changed between a maximum (FIG. 7) and a minimum(FIG. 8), without that this change influences the conditions at thekneading station 24 and at the deposit station 39. The possibility of astepless change of the portioned dough volume is obtained by thespiral-like shape of a section 45' of the curved path 45 in the member92, which section 45' extends from the outer periphery of the member 92up to a central hub 127 thereof.

FIGS. 15 to 17 show an embodiment variant for the construction ofmembers 91, 92 constituting the restrictive guidance 46 and beingmovable relative to each other. The curved path 45 which here has beenshown excessively strong for clarification's sake, extends in twomembers 91, 92, both of them having substantially the shape of a sectionof a circle and being connected to each other in the region of theperiphery by means of a hinge 128. Here, the adjustment is not done byrotation of the two members 91, 92 relative to each other, as this wasthe case within the embodiment according to FIGS. 7 ant 8, but by arelative swivel of the two members 91, 92, and for this the one member92 is provided with teeth 129 extending along an arc of a circle, thecenter of this arc of a circle being positioned in the axes of the hinge128. These teeth 129 mesh with a pinion 130 bearingly supported on theother member 31 and rotatable from the outside, for example by means ofthe handwheel 124 (FIGS. 2, 16). As FIG. 16 shows, there is in this casea construction for the bedding of the two members 91, 92 of the cam diskthat is somewhat modified with respect to FIG. 2, since the member 92 istaken along via the hinge 128 if the member 91 is rotated.

Of course, the construction shown is also applicable to such machines inwhich all receiving openings on the periphery of the drum 2 are of equalsize. In this case, it is suitable to provide four rows of receivingopenings displaced on the drum relative to each other for 90°respectively.

For facilitating the cleaning it is suitable, if the movable membersbeing in contact with the dough in the filling shaft 9 and preferablyalso the cleaning brush 48 are dismountable from the framework 1 towardsthe same direction. For this, detachable or swivelable walls of thehousing (not shown) are provided in the regions of these members (starrollers 11, brushes 18, 20 of the flouring device 16 and pusher member6, as well as, if desired, the cleaning brush 48), after the removalthereof the rollers or, respectively, brushes or, respectively, thepusher member 6 can be pulled out of the housing. For this, it issuitable to connect the star rollers 11 as well as the brushes 18, 20,48 to their driving shafts by means of detachable rapid couplings, inparticular pin-and-socket connections, that permit a quick dismountingor, respectively, mounting again. For the pusher member 6 serves thefollowing construction: The pusher member 6 has in the region of itsrear end a recess 131 (FIGS. 1, 2) open to below, which is open alsotowards that side facing the direction opposite to that of dismountingthe pusher member 6. In this recess 131 engages the upper part 132 of arocker lever 134 comprising two parts 132, 133 connected to each otherby a hinge 135, which rocker lever constitutes a member of the crankdrive 7 and is bearingly supported in the housing 1 for swivel motionaround a horizontal axis 136. To the member 133 the housing of thespring 8 is connected, the one end thereof is fixed to this housing, theother end to the lever part 132. This lever part 132 engages with itsupper end the recess 131 from below through a slot 137 of the bottomwall 138 of the chamber 13 and carries a roller 139 contacting the wallof the recess 131. This enables one to pull out this pusher member 6 indirection perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing (FIG. 1) from thehousing 1, or, respectively, to mount it again in the inverse direction,after detachment of the corresponding wall portion of the housing 1which at the same time may constitute the lateral guide for the pushermember 6.

The invention is also applicable to such apparatus in which only akneading process, but no portioning process takes place, since alreadyportioned dough pieces are put into the receiving openings, for exampleby means of a supply conveyor belt. In this case, the invention ensuresthe advantages that the kneading conditions can be varied at choicewithout that this has any influence upon the conditions at the depositstation 39. On the last-named station it is of importance for safety'ssake, that the pistons 43 always are flush with the periphery of thedrum 2 so that one cannot grasp into the receiving openings 3 or,respectively, 4. Of course, this advantage can also obtained within theother, above mentioned kinds of the apparatus.

The principle according to the invention can be extended without anyproblem to more than two members constituting the restricted guidance46, so that also complicated conditions of motion of the pistons 43 atthe single treatment stations 14, 24, 39 can be taken into account. Ofcourse, also at the lower peripheral portion of the drum 2 a furthertreatment station can be disposed, for example a station at which theempty receiving openings 3, 4 are cleaned and, respectively, or areoiled and, respectively, or are floured.

Also other kinds of apparatus are possible in which a treatment of thedough different from kneading or, respectively, portioning takes place,as long as within this kind of apparatus a movement of the piston in itsreceiving opening is of importance.

It is claimed:
 1. Apparatus for the treatment of dough comprising:a drumhaving a longitudinal axis, said drum being mounted for rotation aroundsaid axis, said drum including radially inwardly extending openings onan outer peripheral surface of the drum for receiving dough portions; afirst station for introducing dough portions into said openings; asecond station for treating the dough portions received in the openings;a third station for ejecting the dough portions from the openings, saidfirst, second and third stations being disposed near the periphery ofthe drum and further being spaced circumferentially around the peripheryof the drum; means for rotating the drum in stepwise increments; aplurality of pistons, each respectively arranged for sliding radialmovement within a corresponding one of said openings; curved guide meansassociated with said plurality of pistons for positively guiding inwardand outward radial movement of the pistons during at least one phase oftreatment, said guide means being mounted for rotation around the axisof drum, said guide means having a predetermined starting rotationalposition, said guide means comprising at least two curved path sectionscarried on at least two cam members, said cam members being received inassembled relation such that said curved path sections cooperate to formsaid guide means, said cam members being adjustable relative to eachother independently of their rotational motion; means for rotating theguide means relative to the drum at least during phases when the drum isnot being rotated, said means comprising at least two concentricallybearingly supported shafts respectively associated with said cammembers; adjustment means for adjusting the starting rotational positionof the guide means; and adjustment means for adjusting rotationalpositions of said shafts relative to each other.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said first station comprises a portioning station. 3.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second station is a kneadingstation.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shafts comprise hollowshafts.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shafts are rotatablerelative to the drum.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cammembers are adjustably rotatable relative to each other around a commoncenter.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cam members includefacing sides, and facing sides are adjustably spreadable relative toeach other.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said cam members includea peripheral edge and are connected to each other along said peripheralby a hinge, said cam members being spreadable by a central gearcooperatively associated with said cam members.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the rotational startingposition of the guide means comprises a rotatable cam having aperipheral surface which is engaged by a rocker lever connected to atleast one of said shafts.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidmeans for stepwise rotation of said drum includes a cam member with acurved path from which the stepwise rotation of the drum is derived, thetime duration of each stepwise rotation being shorter than theintervening intervals of non-rotation.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10wherein said cam member is mounted on an output shaft of a motor forrotation thereof, said curved path being coupled to a rocker arm by alinkage means extending therebetween, said rocker arm being mounted forrotation along the axis of the drum and engaging the drum for stepwiserotation of the drum.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least oneof the curved path sections of said cam members has an enlargementoverlapped by the curved path section of the other of the cam members.13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the curved pathsections extends in the form of a spiral from the outside toward theinside.
 14. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said kneading stationincludes a kneading tool which engages the dough in the facing openingand is moved in a circular motion relative to the facing opening. 15.The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said portioning station includes apress-in tool for pressing the dough into the facing receiving opening.